Core doesn't boot

[Akaifutari]

Hi Josh!

I have an issue with the new beta version, the game doesn't boot. I have a black screen all the time. My Mister have 128Mb module. It could be the problem?

Thanks!

[nullobject]

@Akaifutari I'm sorry it's not working. You are right, it is likely to be a SDRAM timing problem.

Do you have any other SDRAM modules you could test it with (e.g. 32MB)?

[Akaifutari]

Nope, I don't have any other SDRAM module.

No problem, I'll wait for the fix.

[sh00tthec0re]

I had no problem running the previous betas but Beta 6 hard locks my MiSTer immediately at core launch - the "Kbd Mode" message in the upper-left corner stays visible and the controls are completely unresponsive. I have the hit the first button on the MiSTer to restart the machine.

I'm using a 128 meg SDRAM module that tests stable at 140mhz (but no faster). I'm using VGA output. I tried different vsync_mode options in mister.ini but the outcome is the same.

[Akaifutari]

I have news about this. I tried beta 6 for Dodonpachi, Dodonpachi (Japan) and Dodonpachi (Arrange) and still doesn't boot, but Dodonpachi (No Warn) works like a charm.

I tried the new Arcade-Cave_DDR rbf file and works flawless.

[nullobject]

@Akaifutari Really good to know, thanks for reporting back :+1:

[nullobject]

@sh00tthec0re When you get a chance, can you please try the DDR-only version and let me know what happens.

[sh00tthec0re]

I deleted all prior DDP Beta RBF and MRA files, then installed the DDP DDR-only RBF core file and the Beta 6 MRA files. Unfortunately I'm seeing the exact same freezing up on core load behavior as I saw with the Beta 6 RBF core. I tried all four MRA files and there's no difference - including No Warn.

[Akaifutari]

@sh00tthec0re Have you wait a little when you load the core? I noticed that this core need to wait a few more seconds than the other cores till the first screen appear.

[sh00tthec0re]

@Akaifutari yes, I've let it sit for a full minute with no change. The previous Betas would boot up to the legal warning after about 20 seconds and you'd see some movement in the graphical "garbage" as it booted. Beta 6 doesn't show any garbage movement at all and the MiSTer completely locks up.

[nullobject]

@sh00tthec0re That's a shame. I will keep looking for what could be causing this issue :eyes:

[calle81]

I have the same exact issue as sh00tthec0re. My Mister completely hangs and I cannot bring up the OSD as soon as I launch any of the MRAs. No problem with CPS 1.5 or Jotego's RAM tests.

[ercan1441]

I have the same exact issue as sh00tthec0re. My Mister completely hangs and I cannot bring up the OSD as soon as I launch any of the MRAs. No problem with CPS 1.5 or Jotego's RAM tests.

Same issue here, complete lockup. Also using a 128MB SDRAM which tested succesfully with Jotego’s latest SDRAM tester.

[geekmiki]

Same here as sh00tthec0re, calle81 and ercan1441. I managed to boot it once though, randomly after dozens of failures. Hasn't worked since. Tried 60hz mode with no luck. Edit: just got a random working boot with the no warn mra. Tried again a few seconds later after a cold reboot and it freezes again.

[coderkind]

Same here; 128MB RAM module, and tried all the available versions of Dodonpachi available within the MiSTer menu. All cause the MiSTer to freeze on a similar screen to the one above ("Kbd mode: Joystick 1"). MiSTer has previously worked fine with Jotego's CPS 1.5 core (before and after his refactor to address RAM-related issues).

[sh00tthec0re]

Public core started working for me after I deleted and recopied the DDP MAME ZIP file to /games/mame/

MD5 checksum of working MAME ZIP: 58a82638a2aa7e4e40b32bf365bff17d

[nullobject]

Public core started working for me after I deleted and recopied the DDP MAME ZIP file to /games/mame/

@sh00tthec0re Winner!

[calle81]

Public core started working for me after I deleted and recopied the DDP MAME ZIP file to /games/mame/

@sh00tthec0re Winner!

I have the rom with that checksum but still the same problem.

[ItsAtomico]

Issue still persists for me. Black screen with "kbd mode" sign, DE10 locks up. MD5 checks out (.227 rom). Also tried the .221 set and whatever version the update script pulled. joystick 1".

As for the rbf and mras, used both the official and unofficial updaters, as well as manually installing the files from the patreon post.

Connected my mister via serial earlier, got this log, in case it helps. ddp_error.txt

128MB, I/O 6.0, OTG hub.

Edit: I loaded the core after deleting the rom to get to the menu, switched to DDR3, still no dice.

[johnklax]

I'm having the exact same problem as ItsAtomico and followed the same trouble shooting steps except for deleting the rom to get into the menu. I verified that the rom file matches the checksum above.

I'm using: 128 MB, Digital I/O 1.2, USB Hub 2.1

[stevep555]

The locking up issue - I think it's related to the resolution (video_mode) setting in combination with having vscale_mode set to integer scaling.

At 1280 x 720 @ 60Hz and integer scaling set (vscale_mode=1), I get lockups. But if I try a different resolution or set vscale_mode to 0 (for instance), it works fine.

[Akaifutari]

The public release run perfectly now for me. I have no problems with Dodonpachi, Dodonpachi (Japan) and Dodonpachi (No Warn)

[kiFlaFlaki]

Same problem, MiSTer locks on kbd screen. Also 128Mb. Switched to 60Hz, DDR, same. All DDP versions locks.

[ItsAtomico]

Switched resolutions and scaling, no luck.

[kiFlaFlaki]

Also, switched resolutions and scaling, same problem.

[alienator303]

Same problem here, after running the update_all script, latest rbf crashes the Mister , all beta's before worked perfect. help

edit: mister w/128mb

[jlrh]

Same problem here. Black screen with joystick msg and core menu button not responding.

I use 32MB SDRAM.

I've tried to change SDRAM to DDR3, 57,5Hz to 60Hz, disable all sprites and layers in debug menu, different ROMS... without results.

The japan version worked only one time. I exited, and it didn't work anymore.

I've tried two different SD cards too (128GB and 32GB sandisk ultra).

[ratherDashing]

+1. Never had any problems with any other cores. 128 SDRAM from MiSTERaddons. Used the update_all script. Tried all MRAs with no mister.ini file (so all defaults). All of them freeze the device and need to be unplugged.

[bellwood420]

I would like to share my result.

I tried many times, and finally I found that the issue occurs rarely and randomly in my environment. And it doesn't seem to be related to settings like resolution or vscale_mode. It's mostly fine, but sometimes it doesn't boot just like all of you.

Environment and settings.

• 128 MB SDRAM
• 1280x720@60/1920x1080@60
• HDMI output to 2K Display
• vscale_mode=0/1
• ddonpach.zip (58a82638a2aa7e4e40b32bf365bff17d)
• ddonpachj.zip (a763d6bb37cc6aad573f6da419157a07)
• MiSTer v210109, OS v200908

Serial log shows:

arcade_root /media/fat/_Arcade
mame_root /media/fat/_Arcade
Using interleave: input 8, output 16
        file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u27.bin, start=0, len=0, map(2)=10
     0: file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u26.bin, start=0, len=0, map(2)=1
Disable interleave
100000: file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u50.bin, start=0, len=0
300000: file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u51.bin, start=0, len=0
500000: file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u52.bin, start=0, len=0
700000: file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u53.bin, start=0, len=0
900000: file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u60.bin, start=0, len=0
B00000: file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u61.bin, start=0, len=0
D00000: file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u62.bin, start=0, len=0
F00000: file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u6.bin, start=0, len=0
1100000: file: /media/fat/_Arcade/mame/ddonpach.zip/u7.bin, start=0, len=0
file_finish: 0x1300000 bytes sent to FPGA

When it freezes, the last line (file_finish) does not appear. The last line is missing in @ItsAtomico 's log, too.

Something wrong is happening there.

[geekmiki]

Same here, worked consistently yesterday after changing the rom to ddonpach.zip (58a82638a2aa7e4e40b32bf365bff17d), but doesn't work today on the exact same setup.

[nullobject]

Same problem here, after running the update_all script, latest rbf crashes the Mister , all beta's before worked perfect. help

@alienator303 It's interesting that all the betas worked :thinking:

When it freezes, the last line (file_finish) does not appear.

@bellwood420 Thank you for the details, it's quite interesting. The hard MiSTer lockup during boot is starting to make me think there is something wrong with the boot sequence.

I'm am investigating this today...

[nullobject]

Same here, worked consistently yesterday after changing the rom to ddonpach.zip (58a82638a2aa7e4e40b32bf365bff17d), but doesn't work today on the exact same setup.

@geekmiki I wish it was unreliable for me too, then I could quite easily find what the problem was :smile:

[nullobject]

Including @mfncl9991's comment from a duplicate issue:

Some of us over on classic gaming discord are seeing issues where DoDonPachi public release freezes with a black screen showing "Kbd mode: Joystick 1".

I ran update_all to pull the files initially, and confirmed the MRAs and core RBF are where they should be (/media/fat/_Arcade/cores) , and I see the ROM zip in /media/fat/games/mame.

/media/fat# ls -la "_Arcade" | grep DoDon -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1121 Jan 13 22:07 DoDonPachi (Arrange).mra -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1157 Jan 13 22:07 DoDonPachi (Japan).mra -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1133 Jan 13 22:07 DoDonPachi.mra -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1362 Jan 13 22:07 DoDonPachi (no warn).mra

/media/fat# ls -la "_Arcade/cores" | grep Cave -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 3888860 Jan 14 10:57 Arcade-Cave_20210113.rbf -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 3888860 Jan 13 22:07 Cave_20210113.rbf

/media/fat# ls -la "games/mame" | grep ddon -rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 9734822 Sep 8 12:40 ddonpach.zip

/media/fat# md5sum games/mame/ddonpach.zip 58a82638a2aa7e4e40b32bf365bff17d games/mame/ddonpach.zip

Tried vsync_mode=0 but same behavior, suggesting this is not a display issue. As a Patron I had beta 2 working in the past. I also ran jotego's 128MB module memory tester, and all passed OK, so I don't think its an SDRAM issue (CPS1.5 core working fine).

Update: also tried the DDR mode RBF, and the same freeze happens. This time instead of a black screen, I have a garbled frozen display (also with "Kbd mode: Joystick 1" status message frozen)

[nullobject]

Ok, my ddonpach.zip is different to the one you guys seem to be using:

/media/fat/games/mame# md5sum ddonpach.zip 
9f887a16b6645327384a6623cbebb807  ddonpach.zip

Can somebody please hook me up with the 58a82638a2aa7e4e40b32bf365bff17d ROM? I need to try to get as close to your setup as possible.

[johnklax]

Thanks Josh! Just sent you an email!

[nullobject]

Next question: does the yellow LED go off after the core freezes, or does it just stay on?

[johnklax]

For me the third light (USER) stays ON when the loading core freezes. It remains on until I reset MiSTer.

[nullobject]

@johnklax Interesting. The user (third/yellow) LED should turn off when the core has finished loading.

This is good to know :thinking:

[bellwood420]

The issue also happened with 9f887a16b6645327384a6623cbebb807 ddonpach.zip

As you may have already checked, base binaries inside are the same.

[mfncl9991]

When I moved the mister to my CRT and tried it there, the core loaded once and I was able to play no issues. The next time (and all the times afterwards) it froze at the same spot during loading as it did when connected to an HDMI display.

[nullobject]

For my own sanity, when you guys get a chance could you please try the DDR-only version of the core (this was from beta 6).

This is just to 100% rule out any SDRAM issues (I don't want to be chasing the wrong thing). Let me know if you tried it and it didn't work.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AlvbZtqpJbLwgiTApdbfXHWXKJ0f?e=QHJMBp

Note: you will have to move the other Cave RBF files out of the way.

[MJY71]

What I thought was odd was that the patched (No Warn) MRA was loading just fine when the unpatched International, Master Ver. 970205 MRA would not. Other than those patches, they are practically identical.

I took the <skip CRC> patch (<patch offset="0x005404">00 60 0C 00</patch>) from the No Warn MRA and carried it over to the International MRA, and now that one boots just fine. For the Japan, Master Ver. 970205 MRA, that patch has no effect, though it does cause it to lock up at a different point with that same patch included... I'm guessing because the offset needs to be changed since the main CPU ROMs are different.

The Arrange Ver MRA seems fine and requires no additional modification.

This is all while using 128 MB SDRAM, for what it's worth. Using the menu option to switch to DDR3 had no effect on the problematic games for me. It all seems CRC-based.

[nullobject]

Next experiment: this core will enable the green (disk) LED while the DDR3/SDRAM memory is waiting for data to be written. It should turn off once the core has finished loading.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AlvbZtqpJbLwgiWBWCI0rGuFRFGk?e=EgNgsD

[bellwood420]

I tried Arcade-Cave_DDR_20210110.rbf but the issue still exists. Rather, probability of freeze increased.

I don't have I/O board to check LED but, the same serial log shows that the HPS does not reach the following line. Maybe stucking somewhere.

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Main_MiSTer/blob/4092fb61ae8b314c51b460a18e28ed5d2440286f/support/arcade/mra_loader.cpp#L353

[georam5]

Next experiment: this core will enable the green (disk) LED while the DDR3/SDRAM memory is waiting for data to be written. It should turn off once the core has finished loading.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AlvbZtqpJbLwgiWBWCI0rGuFRFGk?e=EgNgsD

This worked for me! I have the 128 Meg SD ram as well and was getting the freeze immediately with kbd mode stuck in upper left since yesterday after multiple tries. As soon as I added this rbf it worked great played through a few stages and everything seems to be working as it should. Thank you for working on this so quickly, really enjoying the core!

[bellwood420]

Sorry, I missed Arcade-Cave_20210115.rbf. I tried it but it still occasionally freezes on boot. It seems to work well once it booted successfully.

[nullobject]

Thanks guys.

The main I wanted to know is what happens if/when the core freezes with 20210115: does the green LED stay on, or go off?

[johnklax]

Cave_20210115.rbf works for me too -- I had to change my vsync_adjust to 0 to get it to display on my TV but core/game load now. Will keep trying to see if I can get it to freeze and take a look at the LED....

[nullobject]

That's annoying, I didn't actually change anything to do with the behaviour :rofl:

[johnklax]

The core seems really solid for me. I've rebooted and reloaded a bunch of times, hasn't frozen yet.....

Sick game too!

[bellwood420]

Disk LED result of Arcade-Cave_20210115.rbf: When it freezes, Disk LED stays on.

I don't have IO board but I found that one of LEDs on DE10-Nano also showing Disk LED. Just in case I checked GPIO directly with multimeter, too.